Ashley Griffin, University of Kentucky
Using colorings and markings to identify a horse is a good method of horse identification, but what if a horse has no unique markings, such as one with solid bay coloring and no white facial or leg markings?
How would the owner identify his or her horse from a group of solid bays with no white markings? One way to do this is to use permanent identification methods to mark the horse.
Not only does this give the owner a more specific way to identify the horse, but it also deters theft and increases the recoverability of that horse. Horses can be permanently marked and identified in several ways, including:
- hot iron (fire) branding
- freeze branding
- electronic identification
- lip tattoos.